Immunology
Of all the new subjects in this semester this is the only one that seems like a continuation of the 1st and 2nd year. The emphasis is on the detail but by now you should have the experience to pass a course like this. For me it was a bit demoralising to go through the same process yet another time when all the other subjects have moved on to a more vocational method but it is only for 1 semester so it is not too bad. How to pass For me the lectures were essential to understand to slides but many people did not turn up to any lectures and pass with no problem Although the department says that the questions are all made from the lecture and seminar material, this is not always true The lecture attendance is supposed to be recorded but this only happened a few times and nobody I knew couldn't do the exam because they didn't go to the lectures The seminars must be attested and they are recorded There is a seminar handbook on the website which can be useful if you don not understand something in the seminar The slides in the seminar are coloured differently, green is essential knowledge, white is normal, yellow is "additional information that will not be asked in the exam", I would read through this just in case Whatever methods you used to pass biochemistry should work for this subject as well There are some short essay questions can can be on important processes or methods of testing e.g. * B and T cell receptor maturation * Difference between innate and adaptive immunity * Types of hypersensitivity * Immune regulation * ELISA test * compliment fixation * Flow test * etc. Learn any interleukin or cytokine that is mentioned more than once with all the various functions. A good starting point is to know if it is pro- or anti- immune response Learn the unique CD numbers for each type of cell and any other name that the CD can be called Learn the structure of an antibody in extreme detail Lots of this subject is also covered in pathology as well, hearing the material multiple times from different angels helped me to understand and remember things easier and thus less studying was needed There are also some topics covered in microbiology as well The midterm accounts for 40% of the final mark 10 bonus points can be given to you from your seminar teacher during the semester, every teacher has a different criteria for how to get these points. Mine was to do a single presentation but others had to contribute to the seminar discussion or answer questions throughout the semester. 'The exams' 1 midterm: * Written exam ** 25 multiple choice questions ** 3 - 4 open or short essay questions ** 1 diagram or table Final: * Written exam ** 40 multiple choice questions ** 5 - 6 open or short essay questions ** 1 diagram or table 'The difficulties' Some of the lecturers will send you to sleep with their lectures, although the material can be very interesting the presentation may not be Most slides are difficult to understand if you have not been the the lectures The amount of interleukins, cytokines, CD's, receptors and ligands is vast as well as the variety of their functions, I suggest drawing a map like in biochemistry to show relationships and help organise the data Learning to read immunoelectrophoresis patterns Conclusion If you are in the 1st department of Pathology then this will be the only written exam in the exam period. The midterm should take about a week to prepare for but because of the synergy with pathology the final should only take 4 - 5 days